To See Or Not To See

The hand of Henry looks like provoking yet another row about video replays. The fact that not one of the officials saw the handball by Henry surely demands the immediate need for the introduction of such a technology.

There have been cries for video technology to be introduced for a long time now, all of the experts agree. Technology of some kind has to be brought into the game, the problem is FIFA and UEFA appear to be set on keeping football a completely human sport. This, in essence, is a good thing. However, the fact that they have completely disregarded the speed of the game nowadays is stubborn to the point of madness. Three humans are no longer capable of manning the field of play and getting all of the big calls right. Adding another two behind the goal-lines will not help, as shown by the fact that had there been the extra officials they would not have been in the correct position to see Henry’s misdemeanours. Therefore, surely there is only one solution, the introduction of video replays. The Premier League spent a lot of money on the hawkeye project, with the view of bringing it in to determine whether or not the ball has crossed the line or not. This is a step in the right direction, but surely it’s not enough?

Football is one of the only major sports which haven’t brought some kind of replay technology in. Cricket has, in its infancy, the referral system. Tennis uses hawkeye and both versions of Rugby use video replays to make big decisions. I’m not suggesting for one minute that these systems are without flaws, as we see when the video referee in rugby cannot determine whether it is a try or not. However, football is a lot easier to referee than rugby when replays are available. It is rare that the cameras cannot prove conclusively one way or the other whether a decision has been right or wrong.

Should we not use this ability we have to make our beautiful game a more just one? Yes we want to keep the game human but no one man (or three) should be left responsible for a team like Ireland not going to the World Cup or any other situation which costs one team something that they maybe deserve. It is not the referee’s fault that he did not see the handball, his view was blocked. The view of the fourth official with a television or a designated video referee would not be though and this would have at least prolonged Ireland’s hope, if not helped them achieve a nation’s dream. This makes this FIFA’s fault for not allowing league’s or competitions to use video technology. Now that we have something which can eradicate the errors of those unfortunate men who are put under intense pressure to get every call right, we should use it. Let us not forget, they are only human, we should be helping them, not blaming them. FIFA and UEFA have continued to ignore the problem which is blatantly hurting football’s image and the respect it gets from its many followers.

I, for one, believe that the introduction of video replays has more positives than negatives. It removes the referee from the blame of having to make a decision some people can’t make after seeing the replay, in a millisecond. It also will help bring more, if not complete, justice to the sport. The only negative point I can see is the slowing down of the game, but goal celebrations take longer than it would take to consult the video referee. Do you think the Irish players would have minded waiting all of thirty seconds to find out they hadn’t been robbed of their chance to play in South Africa. Do you really think France would have been upset at not been awarded the goal. I doubt it, more likely they would have been embarrassed of the whole incident.

So I ask you, should we bring video technology in or keep the game as human as possible? FIFA and UEFA have made their mind up for the moment, but surely it is only a matter of time.